Gore to Detail Plans to Protect Medicare

Al Gore will announce a plan to safeguard Medicare as he embarks on a “progress and prosperity” tour next week designed to remind voters about how the economy has grown during the current administration--and what more can be done with the current wealth.

The vice president said he will propose putting the payroll taxes that fund Medicare in a trust fund that will be considered “off-budget,” saying this would protect the surplus money from being raided by Congress.

By keeping the funds in a “lockbox,” the entitlement program will not be “vulnerable to politicians who want to use it for spending or tax cuts,” Gore said Thursday in an interview with The Times.

Setting aside the money, Gore said, would also assure the solvency of the health program that helps about 40 million people 65 and over and the disabled. Under Gore’s plan, that money could only be used for Medicare and to pay down the national debt.

The Gore plan is an expanded version of what he wants to do with Social Security, the government’s other giant social program. The announcement will come as Democratic officials air ads touting Gore as a protector of Medicare.

There is no actual lockbox--money can’t be set aside, because tax revenue is spent as it flows into the Treasury. Instead, the future surpluses would be used to pay down the national debt, rather than being spent for tax cuts or new federal programs.

The hope is that the elimination of the national debt would help keep interest rates low, promote economic activity and ultimately generate the tax revenue needed to pay the Social Security and Medicare benefits for millions of baby boomers who begin reaching retirement age in about 10 years.

Gore plans to detail the Medicare proposal in a speech Tuesday that will kick off a swing through key battleground states, such as Pennsylvania and Ohio, showcasing places that have benefited from the flush economic times. He also will warn that bad policies could mean an end to the good times.

“This is an important turning point for America,” Gore told The Times. “It is a kind of fork in the road. We can continue following the path of economic growth and we can focus on progress and prosperity, or, if we make the wrong decision, we would see an end to that growth and a return to deficits and the problems of the past.”

Gore’s proposal drew mixed reaction from experts.

“The lockbox rhetoric is unfortunate, but the underlying policy is sound,” said Henry Aaron, an economist at the nonpartisan Brookings Institution. “We can justify accumulating the reserves because they will help us meet the obligations of Medicare and Social Security in the future.”

By paying down the debt and promoting growth, “the economy will be larger” and better able to afford the burdens of paying for Social Security and Medicare without cutting more deeply into workers’ incomes, according to Aaron.

But Stuart Butler of the conservative Heritage Foundation criticized Gore for promising an added benefit under Medicare--prescription drug coverage--without offering any steps to slow the growth in Medicare spending. New benefits proposed by Gore would consume the money the vice president wants to save, said Butler.

Gore’s “progress and prosperity” tour, which will last at least a week, gives him a chance to set a sunny tone about the state of the country, as well as his own campaign.

Recently, fellow Democrats have criticized the tact Gore took coming out of the primaries, saying he looked too negative by repeatedly attacking Republican opponent George W. Bush.

But in the last few weeks, Gore has all but stopped mentioning his rival in the presidential race, referring to Texas Gov. Bush as “the other side” or “the other fella.” Instead, he has pushed a series of policy proposals aimed at helping working families.

“It’s not a tactic,” Gore said of the change in the campaign’s tone. “It reflects a determination on my part to present a positive vision of our country’s future.”

Next week, as he stumps through the Rust Belt, Gore will try to get voters to make a connection between the nation’s recent economic boom and the Clinton-Gore administration.

He began using that kind of rhetoric at fund-raisers Wednesday night in Los Angeles, trying to rally supporters to feel passionate about the direction of the country.

At the upscale Conga Room, where Latino legislators and celebrities raised $325,000 for the Democratic National Committee, Gore said he wanted them to do more than just support the party.

Gore called on them to walk “toward the light, and the hope, the opportunity.”

He added: “I’m asking for you to let yourselves believe without reservation that we can do it, that we can make of this country what we dream it can be.”

Gore faces a challenge in piggybacking on the recent good times.

While nearly half of the public feel the country is on the right track, few say the administration is responsible. In a Los Angeles Times Poll last month, 46% of voters said they felt the nation is on the right track, but only 15% gave Clinton credit for the prosperous times.

Gore acknowledged Thursday that it is difficult to get the public to connect the nation’s prosperity with the Clinton-Gore years.

“The truth is, the American people did this,” he said. “And I think the truth is also clear that these policies made it easier to unlock the potential of the American people to create the strong economy.”

Also on Thursday, Democrats prepared to extend their advertising blitz supporting Gore. The ad, which hit the air Thursday, was initially set to run in 15 states through Sunday, including many of the Midwest states Gore will tour next week.

The Bush campaign estimated the additional ad buy, which would keep the ad running in the same markets for another week, cost $2.2 million. That would bring the total spent airing the ad to about $4.1 million.

Bush today is expected to unveil a television ad of his own that spotlights his nephew George P. Bush, son of Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. Campaign advisors see the nephew’s role as a way to reach out to young voters and to Latinos as well, because of his partly Mexican heritage.